Young-hee and the Pullocho (35 page)

“We never made you. You've been in the realm of immortals, beyond the attachments of mud. Had you stayed, you could have forgotten everything from your mud world—anger, longing, sadness, hate, fear, ambition, selfishness.”

“But I would have forgotten my family, too.”

“Yes, everything. In time.”

“That's terrible.”

“Terrible? Weren't you happy here?”

Young-hee thought for a moment. “No,” she said. “I mean, it was all wonderful, everyone was fun and delightful. But I feel … distracted, not happy.”

“I see,” said the king. “Before you go, may I show you one more thing? It will only take a moment, and it is about your family.”

“A moment?”

The king nodded and led Young-hee to his private pavilion, now a rotted relic of the splendid mansion. They mounted a staircase to a tower where there lay a large, jade-colored crystal, uneven and unclear.

“This is my dragon glass. It grants far sight.”

“Like a fire pearl?”

He laughed. “Yes, a little. As a grain of sand resembles a mountain. Look into the dragon glass.”

So she looked. The blue crystal warped her vision, magnifying some things, shrinking others. “I can't see anything.”

“Keep looking.”

Gradually, blue crystal cleared and the views sorted into near and far. She saw the forest fairies in the palace, playing, studying, and living. She saw miles of bamboo beyond the walls. And, slowly, she began to see ever farther—to the Great Forest and across the vast expanses of Strange Land. She saw past Cheongyong Mountains, the Ogre's Fist, Lake Mey, and more. She saw the Wandering Mountains and the Jade Forest and the great Orange Sea. The more she looked, the faster she sped across wider and wider plains and realms, always with startling clarity. She saw Bassam walking across desert wastes with a treasure-caravan laden.

Then, all at once, she was looking into a Korean apartment—large and modern, but tasteful. It looked lived-in and happy. Young-hee had lived in an unhappy apartment for long enough to know the difference. Happy homes lacked that nervous edge, the dreadful anticipation of the next thing to go wrong.

A door opened, and a young girl ran through, in a pretty skirt and fashionable haircut, followed by her mother.
Her
mother. It took Young-hee a moment to realize she was looking at her mom. And herself. They were laughing, happy. She felt confused. A moment later a man entered. Her father.

“What is that?” she asked.

“It is you. Or it could be, if you wanted.”

“Me?”

“You could be back home, in your world.”

“Oh, really? You can do that?” After all she had been through in Strange Land, it seemed too good to be true. Young-hee blinked hard, trying to believe that the vivid scene before her in the blue glass was real. “But that's not my world,” she said. “Or my apartment. I don't wear skirts”—that struck her as quite odd—“Or live with my dad.”

“Yes, but you could. Just tell me that's what you want, and I have the power to return you to your world.”

“My world. But in a nice home. With my father.”

“Yes. Just like you always dreamed. Just tell me you want it, and I can send you there. No more quest, no paths, no more monsters chasing you, no scheming spirits.”

Young-hee didn't want to let herself believe it. After all she had been through, the forest fairy king return her home? Not just home, but a better home. With her father back. It was … perfect. And then …

“Where's Bum?”

“Sorry?”

“Young-beom, my little brother. Where is he?”

“Ah, your brother. That, I'm afraid to say, is the one thing I cannot give you. He was captured by a goblin. That is an old magic, strong and true—one I cannot simply undo.”

“But … you can do all this other stuff.”

“Yes, I can give you everything you have wanted for so long. Everything except that one thing.”

“But the whole reason I've traveled so far, is for Bum,” she trailed off. In the crystal's images—her father back, her mother happy—everything seemed so right. But … “He needs me.”

“Does he really? Can you really be so sure? He is stronger and more resourceful than you realize. And didn't you always resent him?” The king's words stung her. “Wouldn't the family be happier without him?”

“No. I have to get him. I promised.” As she said the words, she knew they were true. Even though losing her dad again was just as terrible. “I have to go.”

“That is your choice. But know this—even if you find your pullocho and complete your quest, you will lose your brother.”

“You don't know that.”

“I do.”

“I have to try. Wherever he is now, I will find him.”

“Of course you will try. I know that, too.”

As they descended the steps and left the king's residence, rotten timbers creaked and collapsed behind them.

“My leaving is destroying your palace.”

“Only for you. For us immortals, it will forever be glorious and beautiful. But before you go, we have a gift, to thank you and, perhaps, to help your journey.”

A ragged servant approached, head bowed, carrying the finest lacquer box, with mother-of-pearl designs so vivid they seemed alive. The fairy king opened it. Inside were three small vials, one white, one red, one blue. “Blue is for water,” he said, “red for fire, and white for nature. When you are desperate, open a vial and let a single drop fall to the ground—but no more—and it should help.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” said Young-hee. The box was too big, so she put the vials in her carrying bag. The bag had seen better days, but was still sturdy, and Young-hee felt quite attached to it.

Finally at front gate, she saw that the wall was collapsed rubble, jutting with broken timbers. “Head toward the sun,” said the king. “You will reach the end of the forest by the end of the day, on the side of the Sacred City.”

“Toward the sun, check.”

“When you see your friend, Samjogo, please tell him that the Forest Fairy King remembers his service and wishes him well.”

“Okay. But I have no idea where he is. It's been so long since I left him.”

“Thank you for your time with us. The forest fairies wish you well.”

Young-hee climbed over the rubble. When she turned to bid the king one last farewell, there were only ruins where the palace once was, with no signs of fairies or king.

“Of course,” she said. Feeling vacant, Young-hee found the sun through the bamboo and started walking. She had grown so comfortable and content in the palace, Young-hee could scarcely believe she had left it.
Even if you find your pullocho, you will lose your brother.
The silent forest turned the memory into a shout. Was that why Boonae warned about the forest? After months free of care, Young-hee felt crushed by all her old worries and fears.

After a couple of hours bamboo gave way to cedars and birch, then after a couple more hours she saw the forest end and a clearing await her. She squeezed through a particularly thick grove of trees and stumbled into it.

A disheveled man saw her emerge and stood up suddenly. His goofy friend smiled broadly and wagged his tail. “Hey, there she is,” said Samjogo to Tiger.

“You waited for me!” gushed Young-hee as she ran to hug her friends. They looked just as she remembered. “I can't believe it. How long has it been? Months? More? I lost track.” She couldn't believe they had waited. She didn't think she could endure the quest alone.

Tiger responded with typical purrs. Samjogo seemed pleased, but concerned. “Young-hee, it has been only a day since we entered the Great Forest,” said the three-legged crow.

“A day? But … I was …”

“Gone much longer? Yes, the forest can be like that, especially the palace of the immortal fairy king.”

Young-hee was confused, but not surprised. Time was just one of many things that didn't work the same in Strange Land. She scratched behind the ear of the happy big cat. Then she scowled. “How did you know I went to the king's palace?”

Samjogo looked away, troubled. “Because I know the fairy king very well. He was the father who found and raised me as his son.”

“Wait, the king of the Great Forest was
your
father?” Young-hee's mind raced, amazed, bewildered. “You know, that would have been useful information before we entered the forest.”

“I tried to keep us out. We only entered because there was no choice.”

“But once we entered, you could have said
something
.”

“I couldn't tell you,” he said. “That is the test of the Great Forest and why we tried to go around it. There are no paths through, and you must face its tests alone. I am bound by the same forest rules and tests as everyone else.”

Young-hee let go of Tiger and stood. Her head throbbed as she tried wrapping her brain around what had happened. “I thought you said you were raised by savage fairies? Hunting, fighting, and all? The fairy king I met was very kind.”

Samjogo scuffed the ground as he talked, troubled by memories. “True, today, the immortal fairy king is peaceful, beyond the concerns of this, or any realm. But he was not like that when he took me in. Only after great suffering and the Dragon Wars did the king renounce his old ways, devoting himself to sutras and enlightenment, to becoming forever joyful. When he moved into the forest, he took over the palace of the immortals and turned the woods into that fearful test.”

A test?
She thought about all she had given up to leave the palace—its simple happiness, the promise of regaining her father. It had taken more strength than she knew she had to reject those offers. “So, the test is the fairies' promise of happiness,” she said, trying to understand. “Which, for some reason, you aren't allowed to talk about.”

“Basically, yes.”

“And I got sucked in for a while. But eventually, remembering my brother and love for my family helped me pass the test.”

Samjogo pushed a clump of earth with the end of his hyeopdo and looked sad. “No,” he said, “you failed.” Pressing his lips together grimly, he started up the hill.

Young-hee stood stunned, until Tiger lightly nudged her forward. “We should be going.”

Ahead loomed a rolling expanse of hills, and right in front was the largest of all, a huge, flat-topped mountain—home to the Sacred City. Most of the slope was treeless but green, yielding to rock and snow near the top.
So close now.
But conflicting thoughts made it hard to concentrate.

Young-hee and Tiger walked together, while Samjogo took the lead. As upset as Young-hee was, she also worried about Samjogo. He had lost his chatty optimism, and gained an almost sullen look.
The king is the Samjogo's father? And he looks like my father?
Something about those ideas cut too close and too deep. The Great Forest was yet another Strange Land mystery, she decided, free from the burdens of logic. Sorting it rationally would only give her a headache, so she decided to just keep going.

“If it helps, I didn't know the fairy king was Samjogo's father either,” said Tiger. “After I fell asleep, I woke up at the edge of the forest, beside Samjogo. Only then did he tell me the nature of the forest and the fairy king's tests.”

“So the fairies didn't tempt you?”

“I would never get the chance to take the fairies' test. It is not for all creatures. Just you … and Samjogo, too.”

“He looks … upset.”

“Because he failed the test, as well, or so I understand. And since then he has not been able to see his father or the other the forest fairies.”

“None of this sounds very fair. What was the test? Was I supposed to stay forever? How would that be passing?”

Shrugging, Tiger walked on.

The slope they trudged up was not as lush as it appeared from a distance. Under sparse grass, the ground was all black rocks and coarse soil. Looking closely, she thought some of the stones resembled the magic path she followed since her quest's start. And that's when she realized that the whole mountain was now her path. As her journey neared its end, the path grew, converging on the Sacred City.